Graduate Student Activists with California Speaker of the Assembly John A. Perez
With our fearless leader, Ellie Sciaky (GSA's Vice President, External Affairs), in the driver’s seat, we left the beaches of Santa Barbara behind on Friday, March 2, and headed to the University of California Student Association’s Student Lobby Conference in Sacramento. Ellie and I were joined by Diana T. Dyste Anzures (GSA President) and Miles Ashlock (Graduate Students Association – Education President).
The University of California Student Association (UCSA) is a student-run organization that works hard to “advance higher education, strengthen student power, and fight for accessibility, affordability, and quality of the UC system.” The Student Lobby Conference provides students with an opportunity to take action and address elected officials about critical higher education legislation.
After spending the weekend meeting fellow UC student activists, learning how to lobby, and gaining a better understanding of how elected officials can help improve higher education, we will be heading to the streets to march to the Capitol and lobby more than 100 officials in the State Capitol Building.
This year our focus is on three key pieces of legislation:
- The Middle Class Scholarship Act (AB 1500 and AB 1501) cuts undergraduate student fees by two-thirds for all students whose families earn less than $150,000 per year. This bill was written by California Speaker of the Assembly John A. Perez (pictured above).
- Working Families Student Fee Transparency & Accountability Act (AB 970) increases transparency between the UC Regents and students, especially in terms of student fee increases. Requires an 11-month timeline before new proposed fees go into effect (prevents the UC Regents from instantly raising fees as in recent years).
- Same Day Voter Registration (AB 1436) allows anyone of legal voting age to register to vote on the same day of the election (gets rid of the current requirement that individuals must register 15 days before the election day).
If you are interested in learning more about these bills or how you can get involved in helping to improve higher education in California, visit the UCSA website.
On the final evening of the conference, we were in for a big surprise when we found out that the UCSB Graduate Students Association was awarded Graduate Student Association of the Year by the UCSA. The award honors a GSA that shows exemplary service and dedication to UCSA’s vision. Ellie Sciaky graciously accepted the award on behalf of the UCSB GSA. Even though Ellie is our fearless leader and played a significant role in achieving this award, she attributed the award to the GSA Assembly representatives and members.
Ellie Sciaky & Diana T. Dyste Anzures
Next Up: The March to the Capitol! Stay tuned for an update on our 10,000-plus-person march to the Capitol Building and lobby visits.